Week Two: $2 Bok Choy

One the things I like best about living in an urban area is the access to all kinds of food sources, especially Asian stores. Last weekend, I stopped in quickly to pick up some cilantro (a mere fifty-nine cents!) and I became enamored with the idea of braising bok choy, which looked so fresh and appealing in contrast to the cold winter that has set in.

This week I gave it a try to somewhat mixed results. But since all the ingredients together cost under two bucks ($1.38 for bok choy, $0.09 for the ginger, $0.22 for the bullion, and pennies worth of garlic, crushed red pepper, and olive oil), it will be worth it to try again with a few tweaks.

Braised Bok Choy

Fresh Ingredients:
About a pound and half (or six smallish) bok choy
An inch or two of fresh ginger, peeled and cut into coins
3 cloves of garlic, peeled and lightly crushed

Pantry Ingredients:
Extra virgin olive oil
Crushed red pepper flakes (to taste)
One bouillon cube

1.) Bring two cups of water to a boil. Add bouillon, ginger, garlic, and crushed red pepper flake and remove from heat. Let steep for a few minutes.

2.) Wash and half the bok choy. Coat the bottom of the pan in the olive oli and gently brown the cut side of each bok choy half. Unless you have this in a huge pan, you will have to do this batches.

3.) Once all the boy choy is lightly browned, strain the braising liquid and add it to the pan with the bok choy. Knock the heat back to a simmer, cover and cook for about 20 minutes or until the cabbage is softened all the way through. Remove lid and turn heat all the way up to reduce the cooking liquid a bit.

I served this in a bowl with some of the cooking liquid that made a bit of a broth.

Braising liquid

Bokchoyapalooza

Here are changes I might make:

1. This was way under seasoned. I thought the chicken boullion would take care of the need for salt, but both the cooking liquid and the bok choy needed more.
2. I might chop the bok choy and cook the stalks/stems a little longer than leaves.
3. I might find a different heat source for the broth. I think something like a Thai chili would have been a more complimentary flavor.